InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You expect too much."

Oubai, Kouchisei (daioujou) wrote in disappear_rpg,
@ 2011-03-23 02:15:00

Who: Kiriko and Kou.
What: Sharing Time.
Where: Secluded part of the school.
When: Lunchtime.
Why: Because there's a need to talk.

Kouchisei was sitting at the front desk of an isolated classroom, staring at his boxed lunch. A decent amount of time had passed since he'd made himself comfortable. He picked up the chopsticks lying nearby, a black pair that had come from the ryotei, and twirled them around between his fingers. His expression stayed the way it always did, cold and ummoving, and the more he leaned back in his chair the more he didn't ever want to get out of it.

He tipped his head forward and sighed.

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	apathyisboring 2011-03-23 02:01 pm UTC (link)
	The door opened and in slipped Kiriko, quiet and graceful as she shut the door behind her. It wasn't until after it was closed that she noticed Kou sitting there, pouring over his lunch. He had stolen her idea. "Oh, hello senpai," she said, one hand poised on the door handle. "Sorry, I didn't know that anyone was in here. Do you mind if I join you?" (Reply to this) (Thread)

	daioujou 2011-03-23 02:47 pm UTC (link)
	Kou was happy that Kiriko had the politeness to actually ask. Struggling for a bit to think of an appropriately-distanced answer, he shrugged and gestured at any of the avaliable chairs. "Well, it's not really a problem," he said quietly. So long as Shirai didn't come in after, anyway. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

apathyisboring
2011-03-23 03:07 pm UTC (link)

Kiriko nodded and slipped into the desk next to him. The entire room was available, but it would be awkward to just pretend as though he wasn't there. She had checked all of the other rooms on the floor and failed to find anywhere else to hide away - all were occupied with club meetings and social gatherings, and she even walked in on a couple sitting in their desks and making out, probably without even moving since the bell had rung. Kou was certainly better company than all of the above.

She folded one leg over the other and pulled her bag into her lap, draping her arms over it. She had a lunch, but didn't feel much like eating. The day had been trying. Instead, she glanced over at Kou. She noticed the lunch first - surprisingly elaborate, at least until she caught that the inscription on his chopsticks read Soyokaze Touka.

"Is that from that ryotei?" she asked, gesturing to his lunch.

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daioujou
2011-03-23 03:48 pm UTC (link)

Kiriko had gotten it almost exactly right. The lunch was from his family's business, but the way she had realised it made her sound more curious than he actually felt. He tucked his hear behind his ear and shrugged.

"Yes. I don't get enough time to make my own."

He'd managed to give a succicent reply to a question when he wasn't of the habit of giving much information. Kiriko struck him as a little different to most people; sophisticated, and intelligent for a woman. Once he'd managed to find his voice a little easier, he sounded more assured.

"I'm just after a bit of peace and quiet. I guess you are too, since you're here."

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apathyisboring
2011-03-23 04:12 pm UTC (link)

Her brow wrinkled and she stared for a moment as she tried to make sense of that statement. Who would go to such a fancy place just for lunch because they didn't have time? Then, something clicked into place.

"Oh, that's right, your family owns Soyokaze Touka, don't they? That must be nice." She wondered fleetingly if that meant that his dad did all the cooking, then continued with a faint, apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. You came in here for peace and quiet and now I'm bothering you."

Meaning to correct this, she withdrew an old but well-kept notebook from her bag and set it out on the table, fingers grazing the coloured tabs running down the sides.

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daioujou
2011-03-23 05:17 pm UTC (link)

One hand scratched the side of his head. He questioned briefly whether Kiriko was being nosy; he knew she was being polite, but he was damned whether he knew she was expecting something out of it.

"It's alright." He leaned back into the chair and didn't touch his lunch. His normally emotionless voice and mannerisms seemed a bit more thoughtful, and his gaze moved from the box to Kiriko.

"I'm not that hungry. Do you want it?"

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apathyisboring
2011-03-23 06:09 pm UTC (link)

"Huh?" She looked quite surprised to suddenly be offered a lunch, and though it did look good, she didn't feel she was quite at a lunch-sharing level with Kou as of yet. She supposed she should have felt that it was nice of him to offer, but she felt more strongly that it was strange of him to offer. After all, she had walked in on him eating lunch - what else had he been planning to do?

"No, thank you," she said politely. Tipping her head, trying to avoid being too impositional, she continued: "Is something wrong?"

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daioujou
2011-03-23 08:03 pm UTC (link)

Enough of the ryotei's presence was in his lunchbox - the very food itself, even - that Kou couldn't stomach another reminder of his future career. There had been enough time since he'd arrived at school to throw the contents in the trash, but that was a waste and honestly he couldn't be bothered.

It was very hard to explain to Kiriko that he'd just been planning to look at it. It was also horrendously difficult to answer her question with enough speed to not be suspicious.

"It's nothing. I was thinking."

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	apathyisboring 2011-03-24 02:20 am UTC (link)
	"About what?" she answered without pausing to think. The result was a hasty "Sorry" appended to the end. She knew she was bridging on nosy, now, and rather than wait for an answer, she turned to look back at her notebook, examining the tabs for the correct colour and pulling it open. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

daioujou
2011-03-24 02:02 pm UTC (link)

"Family matters," he replied, studying Kiriko with a curious gaze. He knew that was enough to give an unrevealing answer to her question. Thinking about the details a little firmer, and linking his fingers under the desk, he decided to remain seated.

There had been enough funny goings on lately, people having vivid dreams, that he wondered whether he couldn't feel a strange ambiance in this classroom. No, he told himself. That sounded stupid.

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	apathyisboring 2011-03-25 01:28 am UTC (link)
	"Ah," she answered, with a little more understanding than one might expect with such a vague answer. She seemed to slump against the desk, her face falling against her hands, propped up on her elbows, as she stared, melancholy, at a nothing-in-particular across the room. "I know all about those." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

daioujou
2011-03-25 01:46 am UTC (link)

"I guess that means we've got something in common."

He looked at Kiriko with his hands arched under his chin; he was curious about what she seemed to mean, but decided not to pry. If she wanted to talk about it, he was sure she would at some point.

The silence was, for the first time in ages, awkward. He hadn't thought the two of them would have something in common. He spoke without much emotion, but it was clear from how he seemed sincere that he gave great thought to her problems.

"Ikeda-san, have you ever had to do something you don't want to?"

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apathyisboring
2011-03-25 01:58 am UTC (link)

"Yeah," she answered. The short, bitter laugh that followed was unpleasant, perhaps moreso than the silence, but she lapsed back into that moments later.

"My parents... have a plan for me," she continued with the air of one choosing their words delicately, "But it isn't what I want." Her brow wrinkled, unwrinkled, and knit again as she tried to work through her thoughts on the subject mid-sentence.

"There isn't anything that can be done about it, of course. I know it's the duty I have to do as a daughter. But..."

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daioujou
2011-03-25 02:17 am UTC (link)

Kouchisei's tired sigh was a large indicator of his agreement. He'd never really talked about this with anyone, but it seemed like the right time. Their experiences were so very similiar that he could probably finish her speech:

"You want to strike out on a new path. Then you worry you're being inconsiderate and irresponsible."

He began twirling the chopsticks between his fingers again. His attention was divided between his own problems and Kiriko's. Their futures were going to be bad, but at least he had come to accept his.

"I'm good with numbers. Not business. I might just put myself in the back somewhere where nobody cares."

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apathyisboring
2011-03-25 02:25 am UTC (link)

She looked up at Kou with renewed curiousity. She didn't know the details, but she hadn't imagined finding somebody who could really relate to her in him (of all people, something in the back of her mind added). He couldn't understand all of it, of course, but some of it, and despite the topic of conversation, she found herself smiling faintly, comforted.

"Well, I'm good with business, not husbands," she said, sounding mildly amused, "But I guess we'll both make due, huh?"

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daioujou
2011-03-25 03:07 am UTC (link)

Kou nodded. That was a good way to put it.

Standing to organise his lunch back into its box, he looked over his shoulder at her to wonder why she found things so amusing. It was not that he couldn't understand, but that his emotions were different; her amusement had been in her voice and now beamed across her face, whereas he didn't seem to know how to act. Conversely, he was struggling to understand why anything could be so funny.

He looked down at this lunch to realise he'd put the lid on the wrong way. The lid's design was supposed to go left to right. He corrected it swiftly, but struggled with it a little.

"I guess so. Honestly, I'm getting used to the idea of people deciding things for me. It makes living easier."

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apathyisboring
2011-03-25 03:16 am UTC (link)

"Not me," she said, leaning back again. One ankle crossing over the other, she reached into her bag and pulled her lunch out, finally. "I guess I just need time."

She eyed him sidelong as he organized his lunch. He was standing, now, presumably preparing to leave, and she wondered vaguely if she had done something to drive him off, short of... talking to him.

"Thanks for talking about it," she ventured.

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daioujou
2011-03-25 03:33 am UTC (link)

Kou didn't smile, but his general attitude seemed to show he was grateful. He didn't know where to look, though, and continued packing his things.

Kiriko hadn't struck him as the sort of person to understand a problem like this, he thought. He closed his bag and slung it over his right shoulder. Kiriko hadn't gone much further than a shared problem, and had only needed a minimum level of detail. That respect of privacy was something he could appreciate.

He turned to face her properly.

"It's alright. It's just that..." He struggled to come out with it; the word was on the tip of his tongue, but he found the strength to say it anyway. "Honestly? I cope by forgetting about it."

There was a shrug after. "I don't blame you for asking, though," he quickly added, sounding apologetic.

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	apathyisboring 2011-03-25 03:41 am UTC (link)
	"Same for me, honestly, but... it's nice to know that somebody can relate." She looked down at the lunch she'd taken out and put on the table, and got to her feet. She had, technically, been the classroom-stealer in this situation. Backing out so that he didn't have to seemed like the friendly thing to do. "You can stay, I can find somewhere else to eat." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	daioujou 2011-03-25 03:54 am UTC (link)
	"I guess so." There was a moment of quiet. Kouchisei then returned to his seat, and this time he opened his lunch and laid it out properly. He had been the first here, so the space was his by rights, but what she was doing was still considerate. "Thank you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	apathyisboring 2011-03-25 03:56 am UTC (link)
	With a nod, she scooped the rest of her things back into her arms and started towards the door with a casual wave. "I'll see you later, senpai." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	disappearedmods 2011-03-25 07:15 am UTC (link)
	As she leaves there's a flash of what feels like a remembered dream - the two of them talking over lunch, this time on the roof, over something delicate. (Reply to this) (Parent)